Hungarian Cabbage Roll Casserole is a casserole my family has made from the early ’80s. Our Hungarian Cabbage Roll Casserole recipe uses a filling of ground meat and rice and a thick tomato sauce flavored with sauerkraut sour cream and then baked to perfection.
The original recipe came from my parents’ recipe card collection and originally was actual Hungarian cabbage rolls. My dad was making dinner and decided he did not want to be bothered by making a bunch of rolls. He decided to chop the cabbage and make a few changes to the cooking method. The ingredients are the same, just not stuffed in a roll.
This Hungarian Cabbage Roll Casserole was a game-changer in our household. Unless my mom was cooking, we no longer had cabbage roll duty of rolling countless cabbage leaves around the filling. It was simplified and tasted pretty much just as good as the rolls.
I prefer the casserole over the rolls because I love cabbage, and it seemed to have more cabbage. Have I told you how much I love cabbage? I would eat it weekly if my family let me make it more often. It’s delicious and so healthy!
For this recipe, I use a specific combination of ingredients made from a blend of quality ground pork, lean ground beef, rice, a thick tomato sauce flavored with sauerkraut. The ingredients are all easy to find in your local markets.
INGREDIENTS LIST FOR HUNGARIAN CABBAGE ROLL CASSEROLE
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One large head of cabbage -Look for a firm, unblemished head of cabbage
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One large onion– Use yellow or white onions for optimal flavor
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Butter– Use quality unsalted butter
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Ground lean Beef– You will want to purchase 93/7 for best results
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Ground pork– Do not use ground sausage
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Quick cook rice – Parboiled rice can be substituted
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Kosher salt– Table salt may be substituted
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Black Pepper– I use a coarse ground black pepper
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Hungarian Paprika – Do not use smoked paprika or Mexican paprika
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Saurkrate– Rinse and drain before use
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Tomato Puree– I use an organic brand
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Sour cream -This will be used in the sauce
The equipment you will need to make the Hungarian Cabbage Roll Casserole is minimal, and you probably have all of it on hand already. If you have a cutting board, can opener, sharp knife, paring knife, Large saucepan, skillet, spatula, large casserole dish, and hot pads, you are good to go.
EQUIPMENT NEEDED FOR HUNGARIAN CABBAGE ROLL CASSEROLE
Cutting board – to chop yellow onions and slice the cabbage
Paring knife– to core the head of cabbage
Sharp kitchen knife– to slice the head of cabbage
Large saucepan– to parboil cabbage part of the way
Small saucepan– to pre-cook the rice 1/2 way.
Skillet – to lightly brown pork, lean beef, and onions
Can opener- to open the tomato puree
Spatula- or wooden spoon to combine ingredients
Large casserole dish– to bake the recipe
Hot pads or mitts- to remove casserole from oven
This beautiful American-Hungarian recipe is super simple to make and tastes lovely. If you enjoy American-Hungarian Cabbe Rolls, this recipe is a winner for dinner.
TIPS FOR MAKING THE RECIPE
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Gather all the equipment and ingredients needed for the recipe.
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Immediately start boiling your salted water for the cabbage.
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Complete all prep work while water is boiling. Such as slicing and dicing.
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Saute the onions, brown the meat, cook the rice part way while waiting.
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Do not over boil cabbage. It only needs 4-5 minutes.
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Do not forget to preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Hungarian Cabbage Roll Casserole
Equipment
- 1 Cutting Board to chop and slice
- 1 Paring knife to core cabbage
- 1 Sharp kitchen knife to chop and slice
- 1 Large saucepan to parboil cabbage
- 1 Small saucepan to partially cook rice
- 1 Large skillet to lightly brown beef, pork, and onions
- 1 Large glass bowl to combine mixture
- 1 can opener to open tomato puree
- 1 Spatula or wooden spoon to combine
- 1 Large casserole dish to bake recipe
- 2 Oven mitts to remove from the oven
Ingredients
- 1 large head of cabbage cored and sliced
- 1 large yellow onion diced
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 pound lean ground beef 97/3
- ½ pound ground pork
- ½ cup quick rice precooked halfway see package directions
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon Hungarian paprika
- 2 cups sauerkraut rinsed and drained
- 3 cups tomato puree organic
- 2 cups boiling water
- ½ pint sour cream
Instructions
- Gather all ingredients and equipment before getting started.
- Start a large pot of salted water on high heat to boil cabbage. While waiting, slice the cabbage and dice the onions.
- Meanwhile, place a large skillet on medium heat and add unsalted butter. Once the butter has melted, add the diced onions and saute until soft 2-3 minutes. Then add lean ground beef and ground pork. Break down the meat and lightly brown.
- Once salted water has come to a boil, add sliced cabbage. Boil for about 4 minutes. Drain the cabbage. Combine cooked lean beef, ground pork, onions, half-cooked quick rice, and cabbage in a large bowl. Season the mixture with Kosher salt, ground black pepper, and Hungarian Paprika.
- Add ½ of the drained and rinsed sauerkraut to the bottom of a large casserole dish. Then add the cabbage and meat mixture and top with the other half of drained and rinsed sauerkraut-Season with Kosher salt and black pepper to own taste.
- Top with tomato puree and 2 cups of boiling water. -Cook in a preheated oven of 350 degrees for about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Pour sour cream on top and stir. Bake another 10-15 minutes.
- Remove from oven and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving with mashed potatoes.
Notes
Nutrition
Suggested recipes:
- Italian Cabbage Rolls are deliciously filled cabbage leaves with Italian Sweet Sausage, lean ground beef, rice, Parmigiano-Reggiano, shallots, and fresh herbs.
- Deliciously filling Stuffed Cabbage Roll Soup has all the delightful flavors of Classic Stuffed Cabbage Rolls, without all the work.
- Cabbage Sausage and Kluski is a simple to make yet, deliciously flavorful Pennsylvania Dutch Recipe made from fried green cabbage, lightly browned bratwurst sausages, bacon, garlic, onions, lots of butter, and Polish Kluski Noodles.
22 Comments
Sherrie
June 20, 2022 at 11:15 amDo you bake this uncovered? Can’t wait to try it!
Amy Liu Dong
February 28, 2022 at 2:09 amThis casserole was an easy and delicious recipe to make for my family. They loved this Hungarian Cabbage Roll Casserole. I’ll be saving this recipe. Thank you!
Alex
February 27, 2022 at 2:45 pmThis Hungarian Cabbage Roll Casserole was so much quicker than my regular cabbage rolls, and it was even tastier. Wow! Thanks for this terrific time-saver. A+! 😀
Erin
February 27, 2022 at 2:31 pmI’m never too enthusiastic about the cabbage but tried these at the request of my husband. They were incredible! Even my kid enjoyed them, and he’s super picky. Thanks for the recipe!
Aya
February 27, 2022 at 12:33 pmI’m in love with how delicious and easy this recipe is! My family really enjoyed it and it was packed with flavors. The fact that it includes rice also makes it fulfilling. I omitted the pork and just added more beef instead and it was still delicious! Thank you for the recipe!
Beth
February 26, 2022 at 7:08 pmYou had me at sauerkraut cabbage. Is there any better combination of flavors? Loved the tips and tricks for this easy casserole!
Marisa Franca
February 26, 2022 at 3:35 pmThank you! Thank you! Thank you! We love stuffed cabbage rolls and I hate taking the time to get the cabbage leaves pliant enough to roll and then make the stuffing and finally to roll them. I love a simple casserole and so I surprised the family with this recipe. They loved it and I didn’t hear one complaint that this deliciousness was not it a roll. So much easier in preparation and cleanup. Plus you have all of the taste. What a great recipe. It’s definitely a keeper.